Jimmy Carter Speaks Out On Wright, Obama, McCain

Former President Jimmy Carter appeared on CNN's Larry King Live on Monday, addressing everything from the 2008 election and Rev. Jeremiah Wright to his recent talks with Hamas.

In the first segment, Carter said he would not have left Wright's church after hearing his remarks, and that Wright wouldn't be "anything permanent or damaging" to Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy.

CARTER: I grew up in Plains, Georgia and we have 600 people and 11 churches. And the largest and most powerful church is the Lebanon Baptist Church, which is an African-American Baptist church, so I have heard this kind of preaching all my life when we visited their church and they came to mine. What I think he's teaching is a liberation theology and his origins... I think sermons are still shaped by the deprivation of racial discrimination that our country has felt for 100 years after the civil war.

Carter said he would not be endorsing a candidate during the primaries (despite the fact that "all of my grandchildren and all of their spouses and all of my children and all of their spouses were for Obama"), and predicted that the party would rally around a winner after the primary elections were over in early June. But he did offer praise to both candidates:

I think [Obama] has brought a new level of eloquence and inspiration to a lot of people. Hillary has also surprised a lot of people with her tenacity and her capability as a formidable candidate. I think at first she was kind of in the shadow of her husband. I think now she's blossomed forth in a very formidable fashion. If I were she, I would not withdraw until defeated and if I was Obama I would go forward as well.

In the second part, Carter addressed his recent trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, during which he spoke twice to representatives of Hamas. King played clips of John McCain challenging Obama to condemn Carter's meetings, and of Obama saying he personally would not have met with Hamas.

Carter responded:

Well, you know, I know the pressures that are on candidates running for president or Congress or governor or anything else in this country, and I don't blame Senator McCain for making what I consider a very foolish statement, telling Obama to tell me what to do. And I think Obama takes the right attitude by saying it's not his place to tell me what to do, but he would not go and meet with them. I think it's perfectly rational.

Comments

[meanguy]

carter is one of the best men to have once served as president, but his administration was an absolute train wreck! some people are just not cut out for the job; i believe carter is one of those people

[ZenJu]

Carter's capacities for logic and reasoning seem to be seriously in decline, as seen in his recent use as a willing tool for "legitimacy" by Hamas terror leaders. The distortions and bias of his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" caution of a man whose ability to discern right from wrong has seriously eroded. I will listen to what Mr. Carter has to say, but I find some of his observations on some subjects alarming and dangerously erroneous.

[AguynamedWayne]

Carter has finally gone senile! If Wright's views are so different from Obama's, then why did Obama stay at Wrights Church for twenty years? Why would Obama donate 275, 000 dollars to a church that espoused views so different from his own? Why would Obama put Wright in an official position within the Obama campaign, if he disagreed with Wrights views? Why would he want this man to marry him to his wife and baptise his children? Why? The only answer that rings true, is the one Wright has already given.

Obama isn't really distancing himself from Wright, he is just saying what a politician needs to say.

[djelimon]

Wright's sermons are not racist, if you listen to the whole thing.

Obviously Carter has, and you have not.

[AguynamedWayne]

If falsely accusing the US Government (who Wright has said is controlled by White Supremists) of creating the AIDS virus as a weapon to murder the Black race is not racist, then nothing is.

[truesoccermom]

The money went to the church ministries and not Reverand Wright. Sometimes if you want to change things for the better you need to have an understanding of all sides. Why do so many fault Obama for being in a situation where he can understand a "side" of our country that many others cannot. Obama has his own values which he has written and spoken extensively about. Judge the man by his own values and statements and not those of his pastor. But give him the credibility he deserves by being both part of the black culture and the white culture -- he is half white after all. If we truly want to build bridges and unify this country he is the one to do it.

[butchie65]

AguynamedWayne, I don't think you understood his speech.Did you actually listen to the whole thing ? NOT !

[undecidee]

You won't say that Obama should not donate to the church if you were one of those people that was helped by his church.

If everybody were as lucky as to have a pastor who were so dedicated in making their lives better then we will not be in where we are right now.

He helped over 5,000 parishioners. That money is to help the poor and oppressed. The pastor did not POCKET that money and it was not to build a LIBRARY. It was for the PEOPLE. That to me makes Obama and rev. Wright pretty down to earth.

Even if Obama does not get to be a president because of swiftboating and condemnation by narrow minded people, I will still appreciate what he did and hopefully still do even if unappreciated by the uneducated.

[AMJordan]

Gee, why do American Catholics stay in their church when the Pope is against a lot of their ideas? You don't just leave your church.

[justobserve]

Carter understood Dr Wright. I agree: when people went through slavery and others, that shaped their thinking. The media think Wright is a disaster for Obama but I think not. Firstly, two men are not the same. Dr Wright doesn't speak for Obama. The media can debate about Wright but not to link him to Obama. Secondly, underlying what Wright said is: ANYONE WHO USES HIM OR HIS CHURCH TO ATTACK OBAMA TO WIN THE ELECTION HAS ANOTHER THING COMING.
The Clintons argue Obama couldn't win white people, even he has been a winner by any standard, even by the whitest states. IF OBAMA WERE A WHITE MAN, THE PRIMARY WOULD HAVE BEEN WRAPPED UP MONTH AGO. OBAMA HAS WON DESPITE HIS BLACKNESS! That said something very ENCOURAGING about our society; people are not that racial divide as the Clintons want them to be. The Clintons had use black people to win elections before. Black people will not forgive them for what they are doing to black people. If the Clintons set their sight on 2012, they have to think whether it will backfire on them. DON'T DENY OBAMA HIS RIGHTFUL NOMINATION NOW.
The media link Obama to Wright to make him responsible for what he has no control whatever. They are playing into the Clintons' hands to drag Obama down and this is the true work of racists. Wright doesn't run for president, Obama is and has won.

[flyguy14222]

Oh my. "His rightful nomination?" Yikes! Perhaps you should revisit history and take a hard look at both Clinton's' undisputed record of 35 years of fighting for equal/civil rights.

[justobserve]

He has won the most pledged delegates, the most votes and the most states. What other criteria he has to pass to become the rightful nominee? History showed that the Clintons are liars. They fought for civil rights but when it comes the time to accept a black man who has won the race, they couldn't bring themselves to accept it. They are saying he won't win because he is a black man. Do they want to act out their ideals or it's just empty talks? Do they want to go with the majority of voters who voted Obama or to turn around the equal/civil rights they fought way back?
Obama has won despite his blackness. Period!

[PatCroft]

President Carter is the most levelheaded politician this country has seen since Thomas Jefferson. He is a true leader and an American hero.

It is both hilarious and tragic how these neo con born again tortured riddled republican freaks have tried to upstage his humanitarian endeavors with their own oligarchichial sub human and inhumane twist.

[bubbainca]

64% of Israeli Jews favor direct talks with Hamas. Did you know that? I ask one more time... did you know that? Does it make sense to you? Guess what, it doesn't have to, because you know jack.

You know... I didn't know that and no wonder I wasn't giving Carter enough credit for his Hamas trip.. I just thought he was being a uber-liberal peacenik. But with this one stat it all makes so much sense now but the media won't let me have it. No sir, it's the whackjob of an ex-president who has just lost it and let's now dare Obama to repudiate the trip and watch him squirm. Pathetic. And you want to know how this country was led into war in Iraq on the basis of such flimsy evidence.

How about running the story behind the 64%? How about interviewing the people who are obviously tired of the violence? How about interviewing the mother who ... god... had her child blown up by a suicide bomber but STILL wants peace. I sure as hell don't understand that but I want to know. People in this country need to learn to STFU about stuff that they dont know. There's a lot going on out there and it's fine if you have no idea... just remember that when you make fun of an ex-president who obviously knows what he is doing the joke's on you.

[bentenrai]

President Jimmy Carter to me represents the American this country doesn't produce much of anymore... perhaps in the next generation. He's not afraid of people and will speak straightforward, eye to eye with the enemy instead of hiding behind the power of F-22s, Apaches, Abrams, and the US army personel, does not relinquish his constitutional rights because a lot of people, including the current president and his goons don't agree with what he does. The best way to gather intelligence on your enemies is not by keeping a hands-off approach.
The only candidate who reflects that courage is Barack Obama. He's definitely part of the minority, yet he is not scared of running for the highest office, he doesn't look down on his opponents except when they deserve it, and does not relinquish his constitutional rights even when a lot of people don't agree with him.

[bubbainca]

64% of Israeli Jews favor direct talks with Hamas, did you know that? I ask one more time, did you know that? Does it make sense to you? Guess what, it doesn't have to, because you know jack.

You know... I didn't know that and no wonder I wasn't giving Carter enough credit for his Hamas trip, and I just thought he's being the uber-liberal peacenik. Boy was I wrong and boy did the media play its part. With this one stat it now makes so much sense but the media will not let me have it. No sir, it's the whackjob of an ex-president, who has just lost it and let's now dare Obama to repudiate the trip and watch him squirm. Pathetic. And you want to know how this country was led into war in Iraq on the basis of such flimsy evidence.

How about running the story behind the 64%? How about interviewing the people who're just tired of the violence? How about interviewing the mother who... god.. lost her child to the Hamas suicide bomber but STILL wants peace. I sure as hell don't understand that but I want to know. It's about time people in this country learnt to STFU if they don't know what goes on out there. If you have no idea that's fine... just remember that when you make fun of a former president who obviously knows what he is doing the joke's on you.

[kay]

It's alarming to me how narrow the accepted discussion of US policy in Israel has become.

Rational well-reasoned debate on Israel simply isn't permitted.

Carters statements would have been not at all controversial in 1976, many Americans agree with him, then and now.

They would have been less controversial even in 1996. Now, any dissent on Israel is greeted with "renounce and deny", even by association. Witness the insanity of the press towards Obama and Carter: Obama was badgered for days to "renounce" Carter, although Carter hasn't even endorsed him.

The whole discussion is shutting down. Any dissent on Israel is treated as political suicide.

This is way, way out of wack, and this kind of intimidation and the attendant self-censoring of our elected leaders is more dangerous to a free society than any terrorist attack.

How can we have a discussion on Israel when only the most hard line is permitted to be expressed?

[undecidee]

You can't have an honest discussion about Israel and the Palestinians. You either agree with them and do as they say or you are anti-semite. End of discussion.

Heaven forbids that there might be hope for peace with the palestinians. The top 1% of the population in both Israel and Palestinians are not interested in it anyway so the rest of the country will just have to make do.

[CaptainVideo]

Anybody in the United States favoring a genuinely even handed middle eastern policy by the U.S. government is immediately smeared as being anti-semetic by the Israel lobby and its supporters. They have successfully used intemidation to shut off all rational discussion of middle eastern policy in the United States.

[olivia]

The self-censoring of our elected leaders and everyone else, combined with the opportunistic and self-serving attacks on the few who are willing to say what they believe is true, are very damaging to our country in my opinion. We now have a climate similar to oppressed dictatorships, where people cannot speak without being criticized.

I believe this all started when the manipulation of the public after, or even before 9/11, where the neocons would label anyone "unpatriotic" if they disagreed with the Administration on anything at all.

This is the Bush administration's legacy: they have dumbed down America and suppressed free speech to a degree I once thought impossible in the land of the free.

The refusal of our leaders to talk with our enemies is an outgrowth of the same oppressive, propagandistic policies.

Obama would change all this, almost singlehandedly. People hear his different message and respond, because they are sick of all of the above and recognize, consciously or subconsciously, how repressed and imprisoned we have become.

[jpshotwheels]

I adore Jimmy Carter, his acheivements after his Presidency have been heroic. He represents what America should be instead of the Neo-Con Agenda we have been stuck in for the last 7 years. He is correct in what he says and has every right to say what he wants and do what he wants, just as Rev. Wright has every right to say what he wants and do what he wants. We seem to be in a warp zone, where our Freedom of Speech and our right to go and do what we want to do, has been victimized by this Administration and the Media.

Lets be clear had we listened to Jimmy Carter along time ago during the first oil crisis and done something about it then, instead of Reagan, we wouldn't be where we are now, with oil at $4.00 a gallon, driving gas guzzling vehicles again, and in a War with no end in sight over oil.

We have to hope that Obama will make it to the nomination, then the Oval office. We the people need a break and We the People need some hope.

[sparkandy]

I didn't vote for Carter at the time, and didn't think much of him as President. However, now I think he is the greatest living American. I can't think of a more honorable and admirable human being alive today.

[tanyainsacramento]

Jimmy Carter seems to be a humble man with a good heart.

[RodgerLodger]

So if Jimmy Carter dislikes the next president's foreign policies, he can continue to freelance with countries and groups that don't understand he has no official power, confusing and mucking up things. Or is it only ok if he disagrees with a Republican president? What's the principle here? I recall he drove Bill Clinton nuts during the 90s. Why not stick to building homes for the poor, etc.?

[knowhelpnow]

Because he has a mind that speaks for peace. If you don't talk with nations that you disagree with how in the world do we begin to stop the violence? Just eliminate them all?

[wmfor]

You have to rid yourself of this idea foreigner = dumb. Of course, they understand he has no official power. Ever watch Star Trek? Captain Picard had no official power in the disputes he medaited, but he was a star diplomat. A mediator is not negotiating between two parties because of his official power. It is because of his communication skills.

[mamacat]

God bless Jimmy Carter.

It appears that the key to getting peace is to force the Israelis, behind closed doors, to do the things that need to be done, while publicly making it look like the Palestinians are the ones doing the backing down. It is the Israelis who are the roadblock to peace, not the other way around.

The Israelis have to go back to their 1967 borders, and they have to stop taking land away from non-Israelis. Neither of these things are they now willing to do, even though they sometimes say they are.

[minneapolismn]

I truly love and respect President Carter. Despite his presidency, what he's done since being president is unlike any other president after leaving office. He's a very charming, funny, honest and compassionate man smeared by the right wing at any chance. I don't recall seeing Bush Sr. or Bill Clinton working hard with the less fortunate. We don't see Bush Sr. meeting with world leaders and trying to make a difference, we don't see Clinton meeting with world leaders and trying to make a difference, his concern is making cash from giving speeches and being a shill for his wife, in fact his wife would rather nuke Iran than meet with them. Jimmy Carter might very well be the last of our true older presidents who cared more about humanity and our country than about greed and corporatism. Jimmy Carter is a genuine man, someone every man woman and child should look up to, he's a true inspiration and gift to humanity.

[Cyndee1113]

I agree Minneapolismn. Jimmy Carter is a genuine man and a true inspiration and gift to humanity. I have always felt that way.

[scamperdo]

Carter is a great humanitarian, from Habitat for Humanity to his groundbreaking Camp David Peace Accords.

However, he was an ineffectual President, not ruthless enough to swim amongst the sharks.

[Bertha40869]

So very true and I agree completely. Unlike other ex-Presidents I don't care to name (cough, cough, bill), he holds his emeritus post with dignity and respect.

[spicegal]

I've always had great respect for Jimmy Carter, a very decent and honorable man, and of course another great Democrat demonized by the right. In fact, Jimmy Carter's presidency was undermined by the right wingers.